I don't usually post links to articles, but this one struck me today ~ so I felt inclined to write about it.
I have performed more than a few of these - funny how people mock them (and often judge what I do) when in all actuality, many of my weddings are what they should be about: the bride & groom ... not the reception, the guests, the invitations, etc. That's what the celebration party should be for .... I find the same people that judge these types of weddings are also the kind that prefer "the show" type of wedding. I perform those as well. The only difference between me and the church/synagogue/etc. weddings y'all attend - is mine do not include any form of religion. Mine are SOLELY about the bride and groom.
* your wedding day should be whatever you want it to be ~ don't do what is expected or what other people want or have ~ unless that is what YOU, the Bride and Groom, want.
Just my two cents.
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http://thelook.today.com/_news/2013/02/01/16790997-just-us-wedding-trend-couples-ditch-the-guests?lite
'Just us' wedding trend: Couples ditch the guests
Getty Images stock
Bride and groom only? Some couples are throwing lavish weddings for themselves, without friends or family.
By Wendy Grossman Kantor, TODAY contributor
Marybeth
Eustice had been engaged for six years, having repeatedly pushed the
wedding date off. Whenever she thought about planning her wedding, she
was overcome by stress. Even deciding who to choose for her bridesmaids
seemed like a burden.
Then last November, the couple decided to finally get married — but not invite anyone.
"We
just wanted it to be about us," said Eustice, a 29-year-old dental
assistant from Orlando, Florida. "At big weddings, I noticed the bride
and groom are entertaining the guests and don't get to spend a lot of
time with each other — we love spending time together. And, it's really
about [us] at the end of the day."
Weddings-for-two, as bridal
planners call them, are a growing trend, says Kelly Karli, owner of
Frosted Pink Weddings in Vail, Colorado. "It's been popping up more and
more," Karli told TODAY.com.
Less is more?
With
the struggling economy, couples still want to get married — and they
want more than a courthouse elopement. Brides want an expensive dress, a
beautiful bouquet, a photographer and flowers. But one expense some
couples are willing to cut? The guests.
One bonus of planning a "just us" wedding is that you have a lot more leeway in the budget, Karli explained.
"You're
able to have a really great dinner and the best filet or the best
wine," she said. "You're able to have the wedding that you want."
But
the biggest bonus, she says, is that there's zero stress. They don't
have to deal with a seating chart, feuding relatives, an uncle who can't
eat what's on the menu, or a grandmother who hates the centerpieces.
MaryBeth Eustice
Of her fall nuptials, MaryBeth Eustice said "We just wanted it to be about us."
Courtesy Andrea Eppolito
Andrea Eppolito planned a lavish wedding at the Four Seasons Las Vegas for just herself, her husband, and her baby.
Las
Vegas wedding planner Andrea Eppolito loves planning these smaller
weddings so much she decided to have one herself this past fall.
"It's
one of my favorite trends," said the 35-year-old newlywed. "It's about
you, your life, your relationship, and what matters to the two of you.
At the end of the day, it's what your marriage should be about."
Eppolito
didn't want to have a big reception two months after having a baby –
especially since her father isn't able to travel to give her away. But
she still ordered an Ulla-Maija couture gown, had her hair and makeup
done, booked a florist and selected a lavish menu at the Four Seasons
Las Vegas.
Maybe in a year, she said, she'll throw a black-tie reception and invite all the friends and family.
"Then I'll wear a Vera," she says. "Or a Reem Acra."
'You're going to regret it someday'
Still,
not everyone's family is on board with the trend. Elementary school
teacher Amanda Mace's parents expressed their disappointment at not
receiving an invitation.
"I'm their only daughter," said Mace, 33,
of Elmira, New York. And although her dad wants to walk her down the
aisle, Mace and her fiancé are exploring venues for a no-guest-wedding,
ranging from Central Park to the Caribbean.
"My mom and dad's big
concern is, 'we're worried you're going to regret it someday,'" Mace
said. "I'm kind of a shy person. I don't need the spotlight on me... I
want the memory of just the two of us."
Leigh McLeod, 35, watched
her sister deal with planning a big reception. The more she thought
about it, the more McLeod realized she wanted to be married more than to
have an over-the-top wedding.
"I didn't want to wait," says McLeod, a 35-year-old assistant teacher from Columbia, S.C. "I just wanted to be with him."
Last
October, McLeod bought a wedding gown, picked a bouquet — and the week
after her fiance's divorce was final, they married, just the two of
them.
While driving to their venue, McLeod received a text message
from her sister with the message: "I'm jealous. I really wish I had
done what you're doing."
